Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

स्नानं दानं जपो होमः स्वाध्यायो दे वतार्चनम् । संध्योपास्तिस्तर्पणं च श्राद्धं पितृसमर्चनम्

Transliteration

snānaṃ dānaṃ japo homaḥ svādhyāyo de vatārcanam | saṃdhyopāstistarpaṇaṃ ca śrāddhaṃ pitṛsamarcanam

Translation

Ritual bathing, charity, mantra-recitation, fire-offering, Vedic study, worship of the deities; the observance of twilight-prayers, libations of water, śrāddha, and reverent worship of the ancestors—

Word by Word

• स्नानम्: bathing
• स्नानम्: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• दानम्: charity
• दानम्: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• जपः: recitation
• जपः: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• होमः: fire-offering
• होमः: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: होम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्वाध्यायः: self-study (Vedic study)
• स्वाध्यायः: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वाध्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• देवतार्चनम्: worship of the deity
• देवतार्चनम्: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता + अर्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—देवतायाः अर्चनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• संध्योपास्तिः: attendance on the twilight-prayer (sandhyā)
• संध्योपास्तिः: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संध्या + उपास्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—संध्यायाः उपास्तिः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• तर्पणम्: libation/satiation rite
• तर्पणम्: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पितृसमर्चनम्: worship/propitiation of the ancestors
• पितृसमर्चनम्: Karta (Listed item/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + समर्चन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—पितॄणां समर्चनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Daśāśvamedha (contextual continuation)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Agastya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequential tableau on the ghat: devotees bathing, giving alms, chanting with mālā, tending a small homa fire, studying palm-leaf texts, offering flowers to deities, performing sandhyā with arghya, and conducting śrāddha for ancestors.

Characters & Entities

• Daśāśvamedha tīrtha (context)
• Kāśī (context)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Devatās (deities)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāśī’s tīrthas sanctify a full spectrum of dhārmic practices—devotion, study, charity, and ancestral rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Contextually, Daśāśvamedha tīrtha in Kāśī, where such acts are especially fruitful.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna, dāna, japa, homa, svādhyāya, devatārcana, sandhyā-upāsanā, tarpaṇa, śrāddha, and pitṛ-pūjā are listed as recommended dhārmic actions.